A search engine results Page (SERP) is a page which turns out when users search something online using a search engine such as Google or Bing. Results are divided into organic and paid: organic results are relevant pages which are supposed to give a good answer to the user’s search, paid results are text-based ads, typically displayed on top and on the right column.
A wide range of factors influences the list of results and their order. In fact, today SERPs are highly customized for each user and for each use-case, taking into consideration not only the keywords of each query but also the context (with signals such as previous searches, location, time of the day, and much more).
The process of improving a website in order to gain better results in one or more SERPs is called SEO.
The Evolution of the SERP
A year-by-year timeline of the evolution of search engine result pages starting in 1995. Let’s dive into the different iterations of Google and the other search engines that led us to AI-first results and personal digital assistants of today!
Lycos – 1995
BackRub – 1995
Swoogle – 2004
A9.com search portal – 2004
Hakia – 2004
Powerset – 2005
Wolfram|Alpha – 2009
Google launches the Knowledge Graph – 2012
Yandex Islands – 2013
The Launch of Amazon Alexa – 2014
Zero-Result SERP by Google – 2018
Intelligent search features by Bing – 2018